THE LADDER TRAIL IN THE PAINTED MOUNTAINS

Tuesday, April 3, 2012

Denny can't really walk any distance, so Irene took me on a hike. Irene is a friend I have met from Canada.  She is 67 and in very good shape. She does the exercise class every day and hikes alot. I actually drove our  truck because it is a 4 wheel drive. She has a little PT Cruiser and to get there you need a 4 X 4. This is the first time I have driven except to go to the laundry in the park. It was about an hour drive from here. The last several miles was a really rough, washboard road. Quite the drive for my first time. There are ladders that you have to climb up and down on to get to different areas. It was quite the advanced hike, but I did fine. A little tired the next day, but not really sore.

                     
                                 The stick to my left is my walking stick. I threw it up so I could use my hands

Whew! Finally got to the top of the ledge.

What a good looking hiker that is!

There she is again. We were almost to the top

Irene, my hiking and geocaching buddy

OOPS! I started walking down but it was easier to slide on my  butt.  Irene, who is older, WALKED. She is in better shape than I am. This is where we started down the mountain

In this area there were many many little piles of rocks. Indians started doing this thousands of years ago to show the way. We found these rock formations  all over the southwest.  We also made our own pile. It is fun tradition

To get here,  you had to slide down about 6-7',   and  then hold on to a rope (because it is so steep) for about 10'  to actually get to the ladder.

Not sure how  many miles the hike was, but it took 2 1/2   hours to get to the top of the trail and then 1 1/2 hours to get down. Good Day. It was hot, but we had a little breeze  and there was alot of shade inside the canyon walls.

WINDMILL TOUR--VERY INTERESTING

March 27, 2012

There are lots of windmills around here, so Denny wanted to take a tour. People had told us that they heard it was a very interesting, but nobody had gone on one. They are missing out. It was very informative.  There are 41 wind farms around here, the first started in the early 80's.  There are 5 generations of windmills, most only last 20-30 years.  In Palm Springs they can only be 300' tall. In other parts of the US and the world there is no height restriction. Even tho this is the perfect area to have them because of all the wind, Palm Springs fought it, thought they would be too ugly ad noisy.    They cost about 2 million to build and it takes 8-9 years to return a profit. The other tour we took had different statistics, but I believe the windmill tour has  the correct facts.  They are noisy, but they usually are built away from the population. Also with new technology, they are alot quieter.

Windmills as far as you can see

The building behind the wings is about the size of our 5th wheel (35'x12'x12') and holds 20 tons of equipment.  The only difference is our RV is only 8' tall, but it is 12' wide when the slides are out.

I'm sure you all remember Enron. The windmills above were discontinued before 1980. Because these were  cheaper to build, Enron  greased a few palms and built these in the early 80's.  MONEY TALKS!

The ones on the left of the picture  were built in the early 80's. As they build new ones, the older ones are taken down.

These power lines are going to areas all over Southern California and Las Vegas to supply electricity. The electricity from the windmills goes underground to a substation. These lines carry it out.

The blue area in front of the windmills are solar panels. It looks like a lake.  They are starting to put some in to use when there is no wind.  Of course, that doesn't happen often. It is windy 70% of the time. The windmill people don't like solar because it takes up much more of a footprint on the ground than windmills and produces not even half  the electricity.  The footprint of each windmill is very, very small.  Also, wherever there are solar panels on the ground, no wildlife will go there. Even if they are taken out, it is barren of wildlife. Not sure why.  

CHANGE OF PLANS

We have changed our plans for the 2nd time.  The first change was we were to leave Palm Springs March 16th and slowly head north. We had planned 2 weeks in a park about an hour south of San Francisco and another week a little north of San Francisco. We would officially head for home April 6th, getting home about the 10th or so. When we looked at the weather up by Frisco, it was going to be raining the whole time we were there.  Not ready for that.  We decided to stay those 3 weeks here in sunshine. Can you blame us? It is in the high 80's.

We changed plans again yesterday. We still aren't quite ready for rain and cold, so we made another reservation for a week. That makes us staying in Palm Springs for 2 months.  I think we will head for home then.  The great thing about us traveling with no timetable  is that we are free to make changes as we go.  This is about the 4th time we've done this.

We are in a beautiful park in Indio. We belong to Western Horizons, so we get to stay here for $11.00 per night. If we didn't belong, we would be paying $51 per night.

These are a few pictures of the park.

TWO LADIES ALONE IN MEXICO

March 21st

We were lounging at the pool with Linda, a friend we originally met at Moab, Utah. We have seen them  several times since we have been here.  She mentioned that she had to go to Mexico for a dentist apt. and she was going alone. Her husband had been called away on a family emergency.  I didn't think it was good for her to go off alone, so I went with her.  It was for the next day. We already had plans but I changed them.  Denny wanted me to get his passport out in case he had to go get us. He was a little nervous about it.

  It is a 2 hour drive to Mexico from here. The border town on the US side is Calexico. The Mexican town is Mexicali.  We parked in a secure lot in Calexico and walked across the border. The dentist is about a 15 minute drive from there, but he picks you up. We walked the 2 blocks to the hotel. There  is a taxi stand right in front of the hotel so they are always asking you if you want a ride. Our ride was 15 minutes late. It was making me a little nervous. What if he didn't show? Yikes!  He finally came . It seemed a little strange to get in a car in Mexico with a stranger. He just called Linda's name and off we went.  The dentist office was very clean and modern. They felt very comfortable having him do the work. Fred was a dental technician and he had been leery for a while to get any work done in Mexico.  This dentist had a  practice in Phoenix but because of the economy, he  had  closed it 4 years ago and came down here. In fact, he still lives there. They go home on the weekends.  Another of the dentist had  had a practice in Las Vegas. He said about 100 doctors and dentists had left the area.  They spoke with an accent, but you could clearly understand them.  That would be a major concern for me.

After Linda was done, the dentist's wife drove us back to the border. When we came earlier in the day, the line to get back into the US was very, very long. Linda said that the last time they were here, they stood in line 1 1/2 hours to get across. We must have timed it just right because there was no line. Went straight on thru. All of the people were Mexican. We were the only Americans.

Most people go to Mexico thru Yuma. You walk over and within a 3-4 block radius, there are dentists, doctors, pharmacy's and shopping.  Mexicali is such big town, everything is so spread out. Linda and Fred said that even tho they liked their dentist, they would go thru Yuma next time. It is so much more convenient.

She has to go again on Thursday. If her son can't go with her, I will.

Two Ladies off to Mexico again, maybe.

Entrance to Mexico. The building on the left is where the walkers go in. The line of cars coming out are from Mexico. The lines are really long to leave Mexico by car.

 

The lanes below the blue signs are for entering Mexico by car.

Cheesy, but Fun

March 14, 2012

 Another friend in the park was going on the tour to see all the movie stars homes.  Couldn't get more cheesy and touristy than that, but it sounded fun to me.  I mentioned it to another friend and she thought it would be fun too.  Off we went, 4 ladies. None of the husbands were interested.  They were all Canadians, so I was the foreigner that day. Got into a small bus to spend about 2.5 hours.  Can't even list all the stars homes we went too, it would take pages. Very few still live here, most of them were the old school movie stars of the 40's thru  the 90's. The majority  have passed away. It was very interesting to see how they lived. The neat part is that they took us down the street where my parents used to live to show us the Frank Sinatra home. This is a home he leased before he ever bought here.   My folks did mention that they lived across the street from him.

One of the few that is alive and still living here is Suzanne Summers. She has lived here for 40 years. Interesting thing is that there are no roads to her home. She parks near her home and takes a tram the rest of the way. Very, very private.

Also heard alot of history of the Palm Springs area. There are very, very few 2nd story private homes here. The first mayor, Ruth Harvey, didn't want to spoil the view of the mountains, so that is one of the laws she passed for that reason. Also no high billboards.

There are lots of windmills around here for electricity.  They are huge, about 300' tall. The 3 blades are at least 150' tall.  In the beginning, it was mostly the movie stars that owned them.  It cost 4 million to build one and it takes 12 years to get a return. It is windy here everyday, so there are thousands of these windmills everywhere.

You can also see more windmills in the background.

Notice the height of the car compared to the windmill.

Four ladies having fun after out tour.  Irene, the woman on my left, also geocaches. She has found over 3,000. I'm up to 55. We went out with her one day and found 20. Whew!  Denny and I were exhausted and we were only out 3 hours. She has found 120 in one day.  We took Karen and her husband out one day to see how they would like it. They enjoyed it. We found 4 out of 5 caches. She is the woman on the right.

Palm Springs Follies

March 7, 2012

Yesterday we went to the Palm Springs Follies.  We first  went in 2009. I think we will go every year we are here, it is kind of spendy, but well worth it.   They are amazing. It is a Las Vegas type show, but the performers are between 58 and 82 years old. Can't imagine doing all that dancing and kicking at those ages. When they were younger, all were professional   singers and dancers. . There are 10 ladies, ranging from 60 to 78 years. There are  men, ranging from 58 to 82.  They do 9 shows a week. We had tickets for the 1st row of the Balcony. We get those because you get a overview of the whole stage. The front row is great because there is nobody in front of us. That's important because I'm short. Those seats were $75.  The day before the show, they called and said the balcony was closed because of maintenance issues. They upgraded us to the 7th row front,  at no cost to us. Those are $94 seats. They way they have the seats, no one was blocking our view. Pretty nice upgrade.

In my previous post, I  mentioned that we went to the address that my folks lived at in 1944. Unfortunately it isn't the same house.  I know it was 68 years ago, but I was hoping.  It was still  cool to be on the same street they lived at.

On all of our travels around here, we have certainly seen lots of country clubs and gated communities.  Beautiful homes. Made me  wonder where all these rich people did their shopping. On our way to the Living Desert, we took a right turn several streets too soon. It took us to El Paseo Drive in Palm Desert.  WOW!  I felt I was on Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills,  California.   Big Designer names  for at least 6-7 blocks. Amazing  to see where the other half shop. 

Even tho there is alot of money here, there is also a bad economy like everywhere else. There is a shopping center that has only 2 small stores  left.  Everyone else has gone. When they close this year, they will probably tear the whole thing down. Never seen a whole shopping center empty. There were some big, well known  stores there.

The weather is still in the high 70's to mid 80's. This is probably our summer, Two days ago, a wind storm came up. That night I bet the winds were 60 miles an hour. We were driving home when it started. It was kind of spooky. You looked into the distance and it looked foggy, but it was the sand blowing. They even closed a couple of main streets because you couldn't even see. It was blowing sand so much that it looked like a snow storm. It was over by the next morning. WHEW. Hope it is calm when we have to leave.

Last week we also went to VillageFest. It is a craft fair that is held every Thursday night. They actually close about 7 blocks of Old Downtown Palm Springs about 5PM.  Vendors set up their wares in the middle of the street. Most of the stores stay open.  Besides vendors, they is live music and lots of food.  I don't really buy much, but it is fun place to spend an evening. I only bought local coffee and a CD from a musican that was playing his sax.

A few days before, we also went to the COD Street Fair. During the week, it is the campus of College of the Desert. Every weekend, they turn a large portion of their parking lot into a street fair. Lots of vendors and food. Very, very crowded, but fun.  Bought a few things I couldn't live without.

We have connected with a few friends we have met on our travels. We went to the COD Street Fair with a couple we met in Moab, Utah.  They are orginally from Medford, Or., but now they are full timers.  Also spent a few afternoons in the hot tub and pool with them over at Desert Hot Springs.   We had lunch and dinner with another  couple we had met at Casa Grande. They are from Colorado.  That is what traveling is all about, meeting new friends and seeing them again at different places.

This is a overview of the streets in downtown Old Palm Springs. This is before the streets closed for Village Fest.

All of the buildings were built many years ago. This is the area all the movie stars used to hang out All of the buildings were built many years ago.

This is the Plaza Theatre, built in 1936. This is where the Palm Springs Follies are at. It was empty for years and in 1989 a man bought and renovated it and started the Follies. The Follies started in 1989. The sign on the right advertises the Follies.

TIMES HAVE CHANGED IN 68 YEARS

March 1,  2012

My parents used to live here, in fact my brother was born here.  My Dad was a pilot in the Air force during the war, traveling to many  different bases and airports in the US and around the world.   My folks still had their address, so we put it in the Garmin and took off.  I really wasn't sure we would find it, but we went straight to the old  address. They did say they lived down the street from Frank Sinatra.

.This is where my folks used to live, 1316 E. Alameda Road.  I doubt it looked like this 68 years ago, but it was cool to see the street and place.

 There are so many bushes in front that you can't really see the house.

I walked onto the driveway and stuck my camera thru the fence to take a look. I'm surprised that a neighbor didn't call the police to say there was a peeping tom looking at houses. I'm sure there wasn't a pool when my  folks lived here, but not sure about the house. My folks will have to let me know. When I told them what it looked it, it sounded like the same, but upgraded. We'll see. How cool would that be if it was the same house.

Before we came here a few years ago, I thought this whole area was Palm Springs. Nope! It is actually 6 cities, Palm Springs, Cathedral City, Rancho Mirage, Palm Desert, Indian Wells and Indio. They are all next to each other so that you don't know what city you are in unless you see the city limit sign. Palm Springs is on one end, with Indio on the other. They probably span around 25 miles.  Even tho all cities probably total 125,00 to 150,00, it still gives me a small town feel. I think because the streets are so wide.

When my folks lived here, they said that there were miles of desert between each of the cities. How times have changed.

WIND, WINDY AND MORE WIND

Our first campground in the Palm Springs area was actually in Desert Hot Springs. It is across the freeway from Palm Springs.  Our first week was good, a little wind but not much.  Our 2nd week was a different story. The wind never let up, night and day.  If we walked around the camp, we had to hold our hats down with our hands. At night our RV was a rockin' and a rollin'.  We had gone to VillageFest one night and came home after dark. The sand was blowing so hard across the road that it looked like snow.  Once you cross I-10 (freeway) from Palm Springs to Desert Pools, it's like another weather world. It really gets on your nerves after a while, without any letup.  Denny had washed the truck the day before it started.  The next day, it looked like it hadn't be washed for weeks. Depressing.

Yesterday, we moved to another park in Indio. It feels great to actually sit outside without the wind blowing. No wind last night. How refreshing to wake up to no sound of the wind. 

After reading my rant about the wind again, I feel pretty stupid for complaining.  I would much rather have this wind than the tornado's in the Midwest. Hard to believe all the devastation. The pictures are amazing to see. 

We had planned on heading home yesterday, but it is still  a tad too cold and rainy. Decided to find another park for 2 more weeks. Today it is suppose to be 81 degrees, tomorrow 89.  Next week is in the high 70's, low 80's.  I have put in a little prayer for high 70's when we get home. Fat chance, since we plan to be home around April 10th, but I can always hope.

The Living Desert

February 24, 2012

We went to the Living Desert Museum today. It had been recommended to me by a professional photographer  I met in AZ.  Nice way to spend a beautiful day. It was 85 degrees, but they had the misters on. They have a huge miniature train setup. It was at least 1/4 of an acre. It takes 25 volunteers to keep it up.

The view below is suppose to be the Grand Canyon. They have made little towns and scenes thru out the whole area.

 This is the best shot I coud get of this Ankole cow. It is from  Africa. Each horn can weigh up to 5-10 lbs and be 5' long. WOW! Never seen any cattle with this big of horns. Most of them had a hard time keeping their heads even. Most of the time one side was lower than the other because each horn is so heavy. As many zoos I have gone to, I've seen this.

This African wolf only weighs 3 1/2 pounds. it is full grown

This is an armadillo. Never seen one up close and personal. The skin felt like fingernails, but more flexible. The triangle in the middle is the head. The narrow triangle to the right is the tail.

They had a wild animal carousel. They had lots of kids exhibits and things for them to do and see.

Somehow this overview of the trains got out of order.

PALM SPRINGS--HOT AT LAST

February 17, 2012

We got to Palm Springs last Friday.  Warmth at last. On our travels, it has been alot  warmer than Seattle so far , but not the weather we had hoped for. At least we haven't had rain very often. Moatly in the high 50's to mid 60's.   Finally can put on T shirts, short sleeve tops,  flip flops,  Capri's and shorts.  It has certainly been alot cooler than when we traveled the last 2 years.  In 2009, I didn't take as many hot weather clothes as I should.  When we left, it was 25 degrees. Just couldn't wrap my brain around hot weather. Took too many cold weather  clothes. This time, the opposite. I took alot of carpi's and tank tops. Haven't really worn them much, mostly jeans and sweatshirts.   Of course, the weather has been strange all over the country.

It has been in the high 70's or low 80's since we got here. We have been going in the hot tub everyday. Best hot tub we have run into. It is from natural mineral springs.

I met some fellow geo cachers when I was in the exercise class.  They are avid cachers, they each have found over 3200. We went with them  one day and found 20. Denny and I were exhausted.  Never looked for that many in one day.  We were gone 3 hours but that is a short time for them. Sometimes they go out in the morning and don't come until dark.  We went far into the desert on some roads that were a little scary. The road was so narrow and rough that the bushes were scratching the side of the car. He had bought it just for geo caching so he  could go anywhere he wanted.  You won't find Denny on those kinds of roads. We both agree that the best vehicle for desert caching is a jeep. You can go anywhere.

Our last cache of the day, called "End of the Road". It certainly was. We drove to the very end and then Jack turned into a mountain goat and climbed up onto the rocks.

You can see how far into the desert we were.

We went to Odessa, Texas to visit some relatives on my dad's side.  After we left Odessa, we traveled 1100 miles in 4 days and 3 nights. That is alot of miles when pulling an RV. We were exhausted by the time we got to Palm Springs.

Texas and Arizona have beautiful sunsets. This was taken in our park. There was a working oil rig right outside the park.  For 100 miles around Odessa, all you see is oil rigs, some working, some not.

This is Laura, my father's sister,and her husband, Emmett. The other people make a handsome couple.

This is Denise, my 1st cousin, her husband, Richard and their 2 twin boys. They certainly don't look alike and have completely different personalities.

One last thing to say about Odessa. As I mentioned before, weather has been strange all over the country.  We were there for 6 days, two had a HIGH of 29 degrees. Very unusual for them. Very cold for us.

Odessa, Texas

February 8, 201.

 Left Huachuca City for Texas. We got to El Paso the first day.  The campground is kind of unsettling, but comforting. Juarez is right across the border. Of all the border towns, Juarez is the worst for crime and drug traffic.  El Paso also has a very high crime rate. Our park was  surrounded by a 5' high rock wall, with 2 rows of barb wire on top. YIKES!  Hate to think we are in a place that needs a fence AND barbed wire to be safe, but I'm glad we chose that park.  Luckily we were only there 1 night passing thru. The freeway follows the border for many miles. You can see right across to Mexico. It is the closest we  want to be while we are here.

Got to Odessa today. I have to say West Texas is the flattest land we have ever seen. Completely flat as far as you can see. Not even a little hill to mar the landscape. Missing the mountains and green trees of Washington. We are here to visit my fathers sister and her husband, my  Aunt Laura  and Uncle Emmett. Also 2 of my first cousins are coming down for the weekend from Dallas. Also I  have another cousin who lives here also.  Should be a fun reunion.

Actually when we leave here, we are heading home. Of course, we won't be there for a few more months, but we are on our way. We have traveled 8,376 miles and been gone almost 6 months already.

Geo Caching

February 7, 2012

As you know, I got into geo caching at Parker, AZ.  When we got to Huachuca City, AZ, we decided to venture out on our own.  We went on 4 searches and found  none, nothing, nada. Kind of depressing. First time on our own was a bust.  On Feb. 5th,  2 ladies that we had met at Parker came into the park. They are avid geo cachers so we all went hunting together on Tues. We searched for 9 and found 8. I was so excited. I even found the smallest micro cache we had ever seen. It was a large nail, hollowed out in the center with the paper to sign.  We had about given up and I found it nailed to a post. YAHOO! The nice thing about geo caching ( I think), is that it takes you to places you have never seen before.

I did one stupid thing.  On one of ther other caches, everyone else had found it but me. It was in a private yard  with permission from the owner, a fellow geo cacher. There was lots of yard art. I saw a few catcus that I thought was part of the yard art so I grabbed them to look under. WRONG! They were real cactus so I had to  pull out several stickers. OUCH! Never do that again. Right after that, I found the cache.

The nice thing about traveling is that you see  people from other parks that you had met before. We had no idea that we would all be at the same park. They have a very small trailer, only 16'. A tad tight for us, but they only travel a few months at a time, go home for a bit, then start out again.  We will keep in touch and visit them at Santa Rosa, CA. , right in the middle of Napa Valley, wine country.

A few days before, we had gone to Fort Hauchuca, the home of the Buffalo Soldiers. It is still an active military base, but has a museum about the them. We had to show I.D to get in.   The Buffalo Soldiers were a unit of black soldiers from  around 1846 to after WWII.  The government didn't think African American Soldiers would do well at fighting the Indians or during any of the Wars. They all trained at Fort Huachuca. Some were the most decorated soldiers of any wars. . The Buffalo Soldiers got their name from the the white men and Indians because their hair reminded them of the buffalo. It was very interesting.

Off to Texas 

Bisbee and Douglas, AZ

January, 28, 2012

We visited Bisbee 2 years ago, but forgot my camera. We set off Saturday morning. It is an old copper mining town, built on the side of a steep hill, about 20 miles from the Mexican Border.  Now, it is a funky little  tourist  town with lots of  artists, shops and restaurants. A  fun place to spend a beautiful Saturday. It reminds  us of Jermone, located in Northern AZ. It is also an old mining town built on  a hill.  Same kind of funky little town with lots of local artists.

A " small world" experience happened to us. We stopped at a local brewery, The Old Bisbee Brewery Company. They make 7 micro brews.  I don't like beer so I asked for some wine. They only sell Washington wines, not Arizona.  I asked why and she said the owners are from Washington.   Small World.

If anyone of you are mystery readers, you might have heard of Bisbee.  J.A. Jance, a local Seattle writer, has a series of novels with the main character, Joanna Brady, a county sheriff of  Cochise County. She lives and has her office in Bisbee. Even tho I haven't read her books for several years, I still wanted to see Bisbee.  Felt like I knew the place. Her other main character is a Seattle detective.

After we left Bisbee, we went over to Douglas. It is about 20 miles away, right on the Mexican border. Even tho it was built about the same time, it has a completely different look.   Because it wasn't built on a hill,  the  streets are very wide compared to Bisbee, which has very narrow streets.  Doesn't have the same feel as Bisbee. Reminds me of an old town in Midwest.

Couldn't resist taking pictures of this car. Never seen eyelashes on  headlights. Very cute

One of many stairways. Once a year they have a stair climbing contest with proceeds going for charity.

Can't imagine climbing these stairs. WHEW!

Pictures of houses on the steep slopes

Hotel in Douglas, built in 1907

Main staircase going to the 2nd floor.. The panel on the wall looks like windows, but it is  Tiffany glass.  Also the top panel.

 View of 2nd floor from lobby.  Such quality workmanship